Nations opposing a European Union law that forces all airlines to pay for their carbon emissions will debate next week an array of counter-measures, raising the risk of an aviation trade war. China, the United States, India and Russia are among those who have expressed vehement opposition to the EU legislation requiring carriers using EU airports to acquire allowances under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).

The International Energy Agency lowered its estimate of Saudi Arabia’s productive crude oil capacity from 12 million b/d to 11.88 million b/d in its latest February report.

India’s commerce minister said that India, Nepal, Bhutan and Pakistan have a combined hydropower potential of 200 GW, of which more than three-quarters is yet to be harnessed. India is proposing the creation of a $300-billion trans-national power grid in South Asia which will enable the region to trade in electricity.

Iran’s energy minister announced that Iran and Pakistan have agreed to invest $718 million to establish a power transmission line through which Iran will export electricity to its eastern neighbor. Currently, Iran exports some 35 MW to Pakistan on a daily basis. When the line is complete this will increase to 4 GW per day.

Italian oil and gas group Eni said it had made a new giant offshore natural gas discovery in Mozambique with a potential capacity of 212.5 billion cubic metres. This brings the total offshore reserves to 850 billion cubic metres of gas (30 trillion cubic feet) for this east African country.

Coal exports are the driver of the Indonesian economy this year. The exports will be primarily to China and India to generate electricity in those countries.

A Japanese power utility has begun using Russian crude oil as direct-burning fuel for electricity generation in at least one of its oil-fired plants, as part of efforts to diversify its feedstock.

Israel is facing the worst electricity shortage since its founding, a shortage that will peak this summer. The public has been asked to reduce electricity usage and avoid operating washing machines, dishwashers, and any other unnecessary appliances while the heat runs.

With just three years to go before Belgium is due to begin phasing out nuclear power, the country is unsure about its future plans, including whether the 2015 deadline has to be adjusted to ensure electricity supplies remain reliable.

Electricity prices are 15% more expensive than they should be because of green policies, UK officials have admitted. Energy costs for hard-pressed consumers have been pushed up by extra charges imposed to help the Government meet pledges to cut carbon emissions. By 2020, electricity rates will be 27% higher than they would otherwise have been.

A study from the University of Tennessee found that in countries where electricity is produced by coal (such as China, the United States, Australia and South Africa), electric vehicles produce more CO2 emissions than gasoline and diesel engines.

A study conducted for the US National Wildlife Foundation and the Southern Environmental Law Center concluded that using wood for large-scale power plants could lead to higher levels of atmospheric CO2 for the next half century.